Gadsden City, Southside, Etowah high school football all find themselves in different spots after Week 6

It's officially over halfway through the Alabama high school football season, and its time to look at some takeaways from Week 6.

Each of the three most-local Gadsden area teams — Gadsden City, Southside and Etowah — had big games and will be the focus of these takeaways. Each team finds themselves in a different spot at this point, with Southside leading the bunch and Etowah starting to search for answers.

Here's what we learned in Week 6 of the season

Can Gadsden City win the big one?

Gadsden City dominated Hazel Green 69-0 to continue a strong start in Class 6A, Region 8. They went undefeated last year and have started 3-0 this season. They have struggled outside of region, winning one game out of region, a win over Carver-Montgomery. They have fallen to all three ranked opponents they have faced: Hewitt-Trussville, Hartselle and Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa.

The question becomes if the the Titans can get a big win. They may be able to roll in the first two rounds, but a trip in the third round means a trip to a top Birmingham region team.

Southside continues to roll without Nesmith

Southside came into the season with high hopes thanks to returning quarterback Gauge Nesmith and running back Mason Teague, along with some others in key positions. Nesmith was injured in a Week 1 win over Hokes Bluff, and the Panthers turned to Jordan Bryan, who has excelled in his new role.

Southside is now 6-1, 4-0 in Class 5A, Region 6 and got through the first major test with 23-13 win over Leeds. There's still a major test with Moody that will decide this region, but Southside has overachieved without its start quarterback.

What's up with Etowah?

Etowah has underachieved this season, even when considering that head coach Matt Glover has been on administrative leave since Week 2, with no timeline to return or for it to be resolved. The most recent disaster was a 62-36 loss to Oneonta where they allowed Fluff Bothwell to score eight touchdowns.

With Cherokee County and Southside still on the schedule, this season could drop to historic levels. The last losing season in Attalla was 2009, and seven losses was the most in a season this century.

Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports and Jacksonville State athletics for the Gadsden Times. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at MDonaldson@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden area high school football: Week 6 takeaways for Etowah County squads